British novelist Thomas Hardy was born Upper Bockhampton, in Dorset. After schooling in Dorchester, he studied as an architect. At age 22, he moved to London and began to write poems expressing his love of rural life. He was unsuccessful at getting his poetry published and turned to writing novels. Hardy's first novel, Desperate Remedies was published in 1871. His second novel, Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), established his career as a novelist. Other notable novels are The Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891) and Jude the Obscure (1896). Hardy also authored a collection of short stories, entitled The Wessex Tales, the best-known of which which is The Withered Arm. Most of his novels were tragedies, and he appeared to grow more pessimistic in later life. He returned to poetry and produced several volumes of sardonic lyrics and the epic drama, The Dynasts (1903-08).

• Desperate Remedies (1871)
• Jude the Obscure(1896)
• The Wessex Tales:
• Preface
• An Imaginative Woman (1893)
• The Three Strangers (1883)
• The Withered Arm (1888)
• Fellow-Townsmen (1880)
• Interlopers at the Knap (1884)
• The Distracted Preacher (1879)

The Classical Library, © 1999–2002..